Ranma Saotome (Continuum-72391865)
The Jedi Kasumi version of Ranma Saotome. Biography The only son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome, Ranma was taken from his home by his father when approximately 2 years old to begin a 13-14-year training trip to perfect his skills in the martial arts. Genma was only able to convince his wife to let them go by promising him to raise his son as a "man among men" upon pain of death for both of them. He signed a pledge and had his infant son sign it via hand print. However Ranma remained ignorant of his pledge for years and did not learn of it until his mother resurfaced in his life and Genma prevented them from meeting face to face due to his curse. While he was still a child, he befriended Ukyo Kuonji, the daughter of a travelling okonomiyaki chef and martial artist, although he was unaware that she was a girl. Genma engaged Ranma to Ukyo in exchange for her father's food cart, but he abandoned Ukyo and ran off with the cart without ever telling Ranma about the engagement or correcting him about Ukyo's real gender. Later, near the end of the trip, Genma took Ranma to a training ground in China named Jusenkyo that few people used due to the springs being cursed. Falling into them would transform a person into whatever first fell into it and drowned. Not knowing this, and not having the patience to listen to a warning from the local guide, Genma attempted to train with Ranma atop the bamboo poles which jutted up out of the pools. When Ranma knocked Genma into Shonmaoniichuan/"Spring of 'Drowned' Panda", he was surprised to watch a panda emerge from the pond and leap onto one of the poles. Genma, now cursed, was able to hit Ranma into Nyannichuan (Niángníquán 娘溺泉), or the "Spring of 'Drowned' Girl". Thus he turns into a female version of his original form when splashed with cold water, which is only (temporarily) reversible through contact with hot water. Sometime after that he had eaten a large bowl of porridge made from Dragon's Whisker which would make his hair grow at ridiculous rates when he was a man. The cook of the porridge then gave him a sliver of Dragon's Whisker to seal the effect until it wears off which leads to Ranma constantly keeping his hair as a braided pigtail even after the effects wore off (before the incident he tied his hair back in a simple, loose ponytail). Personality and Traits Ranma's personality is a mixture of nice, clean-cut, frank, energetic, indecisive, stubborn, picky, stingy and sly.[4] Under normal circumstances, he is fairly carefree and generally friendly to those around him. However, he also lacks experience in social situations and frequently speaks and acts without considering the consequences, or the feelings of others. He sometimes insults people by gloating about inflated perceptions of his prowess, or taunting them about their perceived flaws. For this same reason, it is relatively easy to embarrass him. When faced with such a situation, he can freeze up or verbally lash out when found in highly incriminating 'amorous' positions. He takes great pride in his prowess as a martial artist and occasionally brags about it. Although he frequently has the skills to back it up, his overconfidence can also lead to trouble. Ranma tends to rely on direct tactics and planning, but he is adept at learning from his mistakes in a fight and generally takes advantage of an opponent's weaknesses during a later encounter. He will not back down from a challenge during very serious situations, or when his pride has been wounded, even if he is completely outmatched and unsure of how to overcome an opponent. Despite this, he will apparently refuse a match if he considers the opponent to be too ridiculous. Apparently Ranma takes pride in his strength, skills and basically being a man, while in female form she takes pride in her beauty, but still takes her pride as a martial artist seriously. He frequently uses insults, violence, or harebrained schemes when dealing with those who upset him, usually worsening the problem instead of solving it. But while his cunning generally lacks finesse, he generally makes an effort to try to avoid conflict through the use of disguises, trickery, and theatrics. Sometimes, he has attempted to use reasoning and diplomacy, to no avail. On several occasions, he has stated that he sees it as a martial artists' duty to protect normal people from monsters, the supernatural and similar threats, and has saved bystanders in danger of getting hurt. Ranma has limited respect for suspicious or obnoxious authority figures, such as his father. He also a low tolerance for people who try to steal from him, manipulate him, or otherwise treat him very badly. At the same time, he can also be very forgiving and usually doesn't seem to stay mad for very long. While his father frequently stole his food when he was small, and subjected him to the Cat-Fist technique, he usually just seems mildly irritated, but he has also been vengeful at times. One of Ranma's worst habits is that when preoccupied with his own thoughts or training with his father, he is generally oblivious to his surroundings. The most notable consequence of this is his accidentally kicked Ryoga into the "Spring of the Drowned Pig" while pursuing his father at the cursed springs of Jusenkyo, effectively ruining Ryoga's life even further than before. Ranma's speech is casual and unrefined, using a coarse form of Japanese. He rarely uses -san, -kun, -chan or any other traditional Japanese honorifics. He does use -sempai (elder student) for Kuno, but that is more for sarcasm. Others he uses honorifics for include his benefactor Soun (Ojisan or "Uncle") and Kimiko, his childhood friend Ukyo (Ucchan), and even Ojiisan and Obaasan for Happosai and Cologne when he's not mad at them. Category:Continuum-72391865